Which RV?

Many things had to be worked out and actions taken to get from the planning stage to the doing stage.

I didn’t have an RV so I researched the different RV types, my budget (which I blew), what types of camping I anticipated doing (RV Parks, State Parks, Campgrounds, Boondocking), the length of RV I wanted, and all of the options you can have.  I pretty much came down to a Class C that has a Ford or Chevy engine (easier and cheaper to maintain).  This RV is the one with a bed area over the cab.  I knew I wanted shorter vs. longer so that I could get into smaller campgrounds or go further into the ‘bush’.  But I wasn’t sure how small I could really live in.  With 2 cats!  How did I solve this dilemma?   I decided to rent a 25 ft Class C RV from Cruise America.  My friend Anne accompanied me to the Las Vegas area where we picked up the RV.  Oh did I forget to say?  This was in February 2019!  But it’s warm in the Southwest in Winter, right?  Hold on there pardner, it can get downright chilly in that desert area.  We were, not so pleasantly, surprised to wake up one morning to several inches of snow on the ground!  This was in Joshua Tree National Park!  Oh, how lovely it looked… the red rocks wearing contrasting white blankets of snow.  Did I say it was cold?  Frigid cold!   It was definitely a learning experience in conserving electricity needed for heat (thank goodness we had a generator). 

What I did learn is that I was OK with 25 feet but felt that a couple more feet and a slide would help a lot.  So that is how I resolved the length dilemma and I ended up with 27 feet.  It also taught me I would definitely need a car to tow behind for sightseeing and such.  Something else to add to the list!

Fast forward from February to end of April 2019.  I had planned to buy a used RV to keep costs down.  Best laid plans, right? After looking at different models and floor plans I came across a brand new floor plan that was just what I wanted and had all the features I was wishing for.  Except for that low price tag!!  Jayco and Entegra are made on the same production line with Entegra being a step up from Jayco.  They both had this exact new floor plan but the Entegra version had a lighter interior and some extras the Jayco didn’t (panoramic window in front, fiberglass roof, porcelain toilet, and hydraulic leveling jacks).  I was able to test drive the Jayco version and see the floor plan firsthand.  LOVED IT!!

The Entegra version was really hard to find being a first year floor plan.  No dealerships on the west coast wanted to negotiate price (Washington, California, Texas, etc).  BUT, not all was lost as I found a dealership in ALABAMA that had a lower starting price and was willing to negotiate.  Ka-ching!  I went for it. We settled on a price.  I flew to ALABAMA and picked her up.  Only 2700 miles to get home.  In one week!  That’s 400 miles every day!  Yep, crazy lady!   Now that trip was a once in a lifetime trip; meaning I never want to do it again in my lifetime!  Don’t get me wrong, it was Spring and beautiful everywhere.  OK, maybe not Nebraska or Eastern Washington.  It was brutal driving 8 or more hours every day.  I couldn’t stop to sightsee hardly at all or my day was 10 hours long.  But I saw so much that I’d never seen before.  Like what you ask?

1. Southern storms… Rain pounding so hard and furious I couldn’t sleep over the sound.  Or thunder & lightning so savage it shook the ground.  But what a great way to test a new RV for leaks, of which mine had none J.  And the threat of tornadoes is, NOT COOL!  
2. Armadillos… I’d never seen one.  I still haven’t seen one that was alive but saw hundreds dead along the highway.  What made me laugh was many of them were on their backs with all 4 feet in the air, just like a cartoon character!  And they have fur on their tummies!  There was an overabundance of vultures in the South.  But they never touched those Armadillos!  Hmmm, tough meat?
3. The Mighty Mississippi:  made even bigger by Spring floods, I had a Mississippi Wide Grin on my face the whole way across!
4. The Ozarks, Missouri, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder farm.  What a delight!  Beautiful rolling hills and meadows.
5. Nebraska and everything ‘Oregon Trail’ which is an interest of mine.  The ‘Oregon Trail Ruts’ where you can see the wagon wheel ruts worn into the rocks over time by thousands of wagons following the path to the West!